First, this Hobie 16 Index has so much garbage in it I was almost reluctant to enter a post. Anyway, I have a 85 H16 and the bottoms are beginning to show some ware. I was unsuccessful in my search to find someone to re-do the bottoms professionally. Well, you know what's next. Does anyone know of any source of information that can make me aware of the process of doing it myself. . . . or has anyone on this post satisfactorily done it on their own? Would appreciate any information I could get on this task.

File or grind the keels a bit flatter as a base for the new glass to stack onto.

Take 2" glass tape (woven comes on a roll).

Use laminating resin and wet out a layer of cloth and resin. Stack up 6-8 layers one at a time. Squeegee down tight between each layer.

Let harden (a little) till what we call "green" not yet hard. Use a utility knife or longer blade to trim / carve off the excess glass as best as possible. Would require a lot of grinding if you wait too long.

Shape with a rasp or angle grinder when hard.

There is a keel-shape template shown in the support area of the Hobie Cat site: Keel Template

The guy who did them in San Diego would add a clear coat or gel coat only if desired by the customer.

If the keel is split already you have to grind down the gel coat on the sides of the hull on either side of the keel. He would lap the first layer of glass or two over the keep and down the side about an inch to laminate the keel together first and then stack up some layers.

Thanks for the info. This is a project that I didn't particularly want to take on but it looks like I might have to get to it. The name of the guy I was looking for in San Diego is Rick Buchanan. If I can't find him within the next two weeks, I'll be using your instructions. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again.

i don't want to step on any toes, but i wouldn't squeegee down too tight as the above poster suggested. you don't want to push all the resin out of the cloth--you'll get air bubbles and empty space, making the whole thing less strong.

I just finished a repair on a Hobie 14, which is very similar. I thickened some epoxy so that it would not run and then applied it to the hull until the original shape was roughly attained. I then used a belt sander to get the correct shape. I then added 2 layer of glass fibre tape to the top. When this had cured I used a belt sander to sand it down to the perfect shape.

I would add that it's probably a good idea to mask off any area where you don't want resin. Having vertical upside-down drips going up your hull isn't going to impress anyone.

Also, I would stay away from a belt sander, it will remove entirely too much material way too fast. A good glass job should require minimal finish sanding (just enough to fair in the edges). Afterall, the reason the hulls are worn out is because they were "naturally sanded".

Rick does a great job on any boat repair. I have used him myself a couple of times. If you have the money and not the time go that route.

If you are in the mindset that you would like to do it yourself it is a nice feeling to get a project like this done, working and sailing.

I did it several times when I was sailing 16s. I did it almost exactly as Matt pointed out. Exception is that I used different sized strips. Put the larger ones on first then smaller ones toward the middle of the worn area. You will notice that there is hard wear in the middle and less as it goes out to the ends. If you do not know what the Green State is ask questions. It is rather imperative that you do most of your trimming at this stage. It is the easiest.

Mask off area so no drips
Wear a mask
Wear long sleeved shirt you do not care about
Wear gloves (I prefer Nitrol to Latex)
Make sure you have a sureform, at least 5 razor blades with handle, decent rasp, sandpaper.

If you do not want to use a template you will see how the hull is supposed to go. It is really obvious when you start.

First, I want to thank all of you who posted your input and opinions to this post. I have read them all over & over to attempt to get a feel for the magnitude of the task. Dan, you know a sailors spirit. This task is something that I look forward to, as I sometimes enjoy working on my boat almost as much as I enjoy sailing it. However, the initial scenario that you alluded to is applicable in my case in that "I just dont have the time."

Thanks Matt for establishing a connection between Rick and I as he and I talked several days ago. I appreciate all comments recommending Rick as I have heard nothing but praise concerning his workmanship. Plus, he seems like a really nice guy.

As a result, I've decided to have Rick complete the task that I would probably ruin at this point. I love my boat and have decided to give it the care it deserves, even if it doesn't come from me. Thanks again to you all. Dan, I'll see you at the beach.

I've done some composite work before and I always tried to do repairs with the same resin as the original construction. Therefore, polyester resin is repaired w/ polyester and epoxy w/ epoxy. Question: what type of resin was used on H16 hulls, circa1987? Also, can the final bottom profile be completed with a microballoon mix?

I've done some composite work before and I always tried to do repairs with the same resin as the original construction. Therefore, polyester resin is repaired w/ polyester and epoxy w/ epoxy. Question: what type of resin was used on H16 hulls, circa1987? Also, can the final bottom profile be completed with a microballoon mix?

Hobie 16s have always been made with polyester resin.

You can use microballoons to achieve the final profile, but you might want to use a more durable filler, like colloidal silica (Cab-o-sil).